Methods in Research on Research (MiRoR) is a project sponsored by Marie Curie Actions, a body funded by the European Union. MiRoR’s specific aims are to reduce waste and increase research value in clinical research. SENSE members who attended the METM19 conference last September in Split may have attended presentations by researchers working for MiRoR.

On 25 November last year, I had the pleasure of attending a one-day conference that marked the conclusion of this project. It was titled ‘Meta-research on transforming clinical research’ and was held in the very grand surroundings of the National Academy of Medicine in Paris. All 15 MiRoR fellows were on hand with poster presentations of their individual projects.

The keynote speaker was John Ioannidis, who is known as ‘the father of meta-science’. His 2005 article ‘Why most published research findings are false’ is one of the most often downloaded and cited scientific papers of all time. He and the other speakers in the first half of the program focused primarily on setting up and planning research in ways that can prevent waste. These presentations were illuminating, but didn’t relate directly to language quality in research articles.

The second half of the program, however, was very relevant for those working with academic and scientific English. It was devoted mostly to avoiding waste by writing articles in a more effective and transparent way. Topics investigated by some of the MiRoR fellows included encouraging the use of reporting guidelines, and reducing the number of exaggerated and/or poorly worded claims in research articles. We learned that a number of mechanical methods are now being created to achieve these aims. For example, Halil Kilicoglu of the University of Illinois gave a fascinating presentation on how text mining can be used to determine the use of reporting guidelines in a scientific article.

All in all, it was a great day that provided an opportunity to rub shoulders with some very distinguished academics and researchers. Extensive documentation on MiRoR is available via the website. For the full conference program, click here. Individual presentations can be found here.

The recent UniSIG meeting held in Utrecht on 31 January drew a large crowd and generated much discussion. This was not too surprising given that the invited speaker, Prof. Ludo Waltman, touched on an intriguing and relevant topic, namely ‘Editing an international scientific journal: The English language challenge’. As the deputy director of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University, a researcher in the field of bibliometrics and scientometrics, and currently the Editor-in-Chief of Quantitative Science Studies, he has amassed unique insights into research management and science policy, and how these impinge on publication practice. In his presentation for UniSIG, Prof. Waltman discussed four main points related to the English language challenge: authors, China, peer reviewers and journal publishers.

Research globalization can have a negative impact on authors from non-English-speaking countriesIn an increasingly globalized research publication system (explore here) and under pressure to publish in highly ranked journals to stay competitive and funded, many researchers whose native language is not English submit their work to international journals. From a journal editor’s perspective, a recurrent question in assessing submissions is where to draw the line on language quality. While there is no shortage of available language services, it is unclear whether authors that need the most help can actually afford it, and whether the cheapest of these services are indeed of high enough standard.

Another issue related to authors from non-English-speaking countries publishing in international journals, especially in the fields of social science and the humanities, is the risk that research on locally relevant, impactful topics may go undone in the drive to publish in international journals, or alternatively cost researchers all-important citations when publishing in local-language journals. Being aware of the benefits and drawbacks of research globalization and the use of citation metrics in that setting is therefore paramount, as outlined in the Leiden Manifesto for research metrics.

Recent changes in Chinese publication policy may affect submissions from Chinese authorsA related and subsequent point that Prof. Waltman focused on was the significant rise in publications from Chinese authors. Depending on what database is used, China has now almost caught up – or even overtaken – the US in the number of English-language manuscripts published in international journals. This has been largely driven by science policy encouraging globalization of Chinese research, not only by financially rewarding authors for publishing in highly ranked international journals, but also by funding students to attend universities abroad.

For editors of international journals, the increase in volume of manuscripts alone is a persistent issue, with language quality adding another layer of complexity. It will be interesting to see how these trends change in the near future, in light of the apparent change in publication policy in China, which aims to encourage scientists to publish their best science in China.

What to do about poorly written peer review reports?Where there are manuscripts, there have to be peer reviewers, and these pose the next challenge for a journal editor. In the days of increasing manuscript volumes, finding appropriate reviewers has become a big challenge. Since journal editorial boards alone cannot handle the volume of manuscripts submitted, other experts in the field are often asked to help with the peer review process. But while help from language editors can rectify authors’ poor English, similar assistance is rarely sought or provided for peer review reports. Reviewers' poor English-language skills, along with an increasing trend for open peer review, can discourage many potential reviewers from participating.

For journal editors, one potential way to mediate this problem would be to adopt a review process similar to that of the journal eLife where the handling editor facilitates a discussion among all reviewers, and then formulates a single clear list of necessary revisions to share with the author. Another possibility is for language editors to offer peer review report editing services, although it is unclear whether the researchers that need such assistance the most could afford it.

Publishers decide on whether open access publication fees cover copyeditingIn the final part of his presentation, Prof. Waltman discussed publishers, their wide-ranging views on supporting language quality, and several other aspects important in scientific publishing. As Editor-in-Chief, first of the Journal of Informetrics, published by Elsevier, and currently of Quantitative Science Studies, published by MIT press, he has first-hand experience (more on Prof. Waltman's move from one journal to another can be found here.

We discovered that publishers differ hugely in the amount they charge for open access publication. Within this pricing structure, one publisher may provide no copyediting, while another is able to provide a relatively thorough service to its authors. Therefore, journal editors often have their hands tied, even if they would like to provide more help to non-native-English authors.

The work of authors' editors is unlikely to be affected by new developments just yetTo conclude, Prof. Waltman outlined two possible developments that could ease the English language challenge in the future. One that SENSE members are already keenly aware of is machine translation. Though not yet on par with a qualified human translator, it will undoubtedly continue improving and perhaps soon level the playing field for non-English-speaking researchers, especially those with restricted budgets. Another possibility is that, instead of publishing articles, researchers may one day simply publish their data as nanopublications – defined as the smallest unit of publishable information. In the meantime, though, it is clear that SENSE members will still have a lot of work on their hands helping international authors refine their manuscripts.

This blog post is a summary; for the full event report, please see the SENSE Forum (members only). A final note: The PDF of Prof. Waltman’s presentation is available to SENSE members upon request by contacting the convener, Joy Burrough-Boenisch, but it is not to be posted online.

In this new blog series, we will highlight the different Special Interest Groups (SIGs) SENSE has to offer. SIG meetings are open to all members, and guests are welcome to attend one or two meetings before deciding whether they would like to join SENSE. Check the events calendar for upcoming SIG meetings. Contact the SIG convener for more information or to suggest a meeting topic. If you would like to start a new SIG, contact our SIG and Social Events Coordinator. In this edition, we talk to Utrecht SIG convener MaartjeGorte.

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I started out as a language professional in 2010 after I quit my PhD in Genetics halfway through. I quickly found SENSE and the Utrecht SIG. It was – and remains – a delight to be among people whose brains work the same way as mine. Professionally, I enjoy working with technology companies and universities: complex, but broad enough to stay interesting.

What is the Utrecht SIG and who is it for?

The SIG started as the aptly-named Utrecht Translation Group over 20 years ago and stayed true to its origins. It’s for people who enjoy traveling to Utrecht to discuss translations; anything from analysis reports to opera. When we have an interesting text, we spend the first half of the meeting discussing the text and the second half on shop talk. When we don't have a text, there’s more time for shop talk. The SIG is interesting to a wide audience: even if you’re not a translator, it can be good practice to wrap your head around a translation puzzle and think about language and culture in a different way.

How often does the Utrecht SIG meet up?

Every second Wednesday of odd-numbered months. The last year has been hit and miss due to trouble finding a suitable venue, but we’re trying out a new place for the upcoming meeting.

How many people generally attend Utrecht SIG meetings?

Anywhere from 4 to 20, usually around 8. Luckily, we always get a good conversation going, no matter the group size.

When and where will the next Utrecht SIG meeting be?

Wednesday 11 March in community centre Oase, from 19:30 to 21:30. We're still looking for a text to discuss, so if you've recently done a troublesome, funny, cross-culturally complex or otherwise interesting translation, please let me know!

Would you like to attend the next Utrecht SIG? Register at the Events page today!

Photo by Michael Hartwigsen, taken at the SENSE 2018 Conference in Den Bosch. All rights reserved.

With the SENSE 2020 conference only a few months away and registration now open, it’s time to take a closer look at some of the presenters. They come from all around the world: Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium… Several presenters come from outside the Society, but the SENSE delegation is nothing to scoff at! Below are the names of all those representing SENSE during the pre-conference workshops and conference programme:

What are you hoping attendees will take away from your session?Claire Bacon: “Language professionals with plenty of good clients and who are regularly turning work away probably don't need to start blogging. My talk is aimed at those of us looking to build our client base. I am hoping that my talk will inspire others to attract the clients they want by sharing useful, good-quality content. I understand how intimidating it can be to put yourself out there in this way, so I will also give tips on responding to criticism – and accepting compliments – publicly.”

Marieke Krijnen on her talk about the mental and physical health challenges faced by digital nomads: “I’m hoping attendees will walk away with some concrete tips and tools, and feel that they are not alone.”

Ashley Cowles: “Unexpected tips, useful tricks and silly ideas that will help or at least resonate with other parents trying to juggle work and kids. The main thing is to remember that even the most experienced juggler inevitably drops some balls from time to time – just try to make sure you don’t drop the most fragile ones.”

Ann Bless: “An example of a four-day course and advice on how to teach a successful course on scientific writing as well as my support, from a distance, if they start teaching.”

Justine Sherwood: “That they will look into alternative ways to travel instead of just hopping on a plane, something we’ve become too accustomed to.”

What are you most looking forward to in regards to the conference?Jenny Zonneveld: “I'm particularly looking forward to spending time with colleagues and friends I otherwise only chat with digitally. And of course learning from them too. The programme looks fascinating, so it's going to be hard to decide which breakout sessions to attend!”

John Linnegar: “Learning from colleagues, especially from the younger, more tech-savvy ones about using social media to enhance one's business. Networking. Catching up with friends in the business. And savouring whatever Maastricht has to offer.”

Sally Hill: “I’m really looking forward to meeting up with both longstanding colleagues and new people, especially attendees from other countries. For me the conference is just as much about networking as it is about sharing and learning from each other.”

On January 11, 21 translators met in La Vie in Utrecht for an all day workshop on translating from a writer’s point of view. Ros Schwartz has a background as a translator of French literature, but she’s been helping other translators for twenty years, regardless of which language pair they work in. You might think she ought to have some command of Dutch to be leading a workshop about translating Dutch to English, but it didn’t matter. The point of this workshop was to get us past our connection to the source text and see a translation as a self-sufficient English text. That’s what our clients see, after all.

Ros started out with a PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘The Sound of Music – Making translations sing’. It included some general points (know your audience, take a break before doing the final read-through) and some quite specific ones, even down to one word (‘of’’ – couldn’t the ‘minister of finance’ just be the ‘finance minister’?). One of her key ideas is to ‘take ownership’ of the translation – asking yourself what the client wants to communicate and putting that down instead of literally translating. Taken together, these points are a powerful recipe for delivering better translations.

Next we split into groups of four or five to do a short practice exercise based on these points. We worked on a sample translation that was lacking in out-and-out errors but also in oomph, then discussed it with the full group. Each small group then worked on several texts that had been submitted by other participants in advance. These work sessions were illuminating to say the least. As a rule, the submissions were something the translator had found tricky. Although the problems were usually clear, the key to how to make them sing in English was not obvious. Being armed with some of Ros’ insights did make a difference.

At the end of the day, we shared our findings with the full group. Having colleagues pick your work apart can be terrifying. Ros acknowledged this, comparing it to standing naked in front of everybody, and asked that we make our feedback constructive by saying why something didn’t work and how it could be better. The feedback can be confrontational, but is usually well worth it. It’s also sometimes gratifying to hear that there often isn’t one ‘correct’ translation for a particular word, and that opinions differ on what works and doesn’t work.

Sometimes the problem was not a specific word or words but how the information was arranged: a written-out list might serve your audience better as a bulleted list. Sometimes the source text was not good to begin with. Rather than advocating the ‘garbage in, garbage out’ approach, Ros sees these texts as an opportunity for the translator to take ownership and really shine (tip: point out diplomatically to the client what you’ve done).

I think I can speak for all those participating when I say we left with a little more spring in our step and a few more tools in the tool kit!

Sworn translators and interpreters protesting in front of the courthouse in Amsterdam on 13 January 2020. Image by Jaike Reitsema.

Although all interpreters do is talk, we’re not known to be very vocal. We are hard-working people who prefer not to be the centre of attention. Many of us work in public service: interpreting for the police, the courts or immigration services. Others specialise in wiretap transcription or healthcare.

Despite lobbying from various organisations that support public service interpreters and translators, hourly rates have remained the same as they were over 30 years ago. Promises about improving working conditions have never materialised. At the same time, the requirements for entry in the register of sworn/certified interpreters and translators (Rbtv) have gone up, as have the costs to keep your registration active through regular CPD courses. Many experienced colleagues feel it’s simply impossible to earn a decent income; as independent professionals, their work load is unpredictable. It also involves a lot of travelling, which means interpreters cannot work 40 hours a week. As a result, there is now a shortage of interpreters into a number of languages.

Things came to a head in 2017, when a government report was published with the unsavoury title ‘Don’t tolk too much’ – a play on words involving the Dutch word for ‘interpreter’. The report highlighted the need to streamline availability and lower costs. This resulted in a programme by the Ministry of Justice and Security called ‘Tolken in de toekomst’ ('Interpreting in the future'). Key points: streamlining the way government authorities purchase interpreting and translation services, while also providing room for innovation. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, the solutions the Ministry proposed (and the position they took in online consultations and face-to-face meetings with stakeholders) have baffled and angered professional interpreters and translators:

Further outsourcing of interpreting and translation services currently handled by in-house planners. The first pilots are already running: interpreters are now also being called in for court hearings via intermediaries – at even lower rates. Obviously, interpreters who refuse to work for these mediators are no longer contacted, so an increasing number of sensitive cases is handled by unqualified interpreters.

Including B2 speakers in the official register to solve the shortage. Obviously, this was the last straw for many interpreters who spent years studying to get a degree and to get their language skills at C1/C2 level, only to see now that a simple secondary school diploma will be enough. No requirements are specified regarding the professional skills required – simultaneous interpreting, ethics, jargon, et cetera – for entry at B2 level, and there are no plans for monitoring and quality control.

A new payment system, including a minimum rate that hasn’t been indexed since 1984. The current travel expense scheme is downgraded to €0.19(ish) per km, which disregards the fact that interpreters can’t work while travelling. Parking and car maintenance (previously covered by voorrijkosten or call-out charge) are no longer reimbursed.

In early 2019, a group of over 100 interpreters joined forces as Tolken en Vertalers in Actie and contacted a lawyer to see what legal action they could take. After calling in the help of lobbying organisation ZZP Nederland, the group adopted a resolution and announced strikes. In the week of 13-19 January 2020, a large number of interpreters went on strike and demonstrated at various courthouses in the Netherlands to demand attention for their position. This has since resulted in a round-table meeting with MPs of the Justice and Security Committee and questions being posed in Parliament, but Minister Grapperhaus has yet to issue a formal response.

What will the future look like for public service interpreters and translators? A lot is still unsure, but we will continue to fight for fair compensation and proper regulation of the profession. The next strike is planned for 19 February at Plein 2, The Hague – the date of the debate between the Minister and the committee. For more information, contact Tolken en Vertalers in Actie.

In this new blog series, we will highlight the different Special Interest Groups (SIGs) SENSE has to offer. SIG meetings are open to all members, and guests are welcome to attend one or two meetings before deciding whether they would like to join SENSE. Check theevents calendar for upcoming SIG meetings. Contact the SIG convener for more information or to suggest a meeting topic. If you would like to start a new SIG, contact our SIG and Social Events Coordinator. SenseMed convener Curtis Barrett kicks off:

Can you tell us a little about yourself?I’m an American, born and raised. I moved here in 2007 to continue my career as a neurobiologist, working as a group leader at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). In 2011, I left the research world and started my freelance editing and consulting business, helping fellow scientists and clinicians publish their research and obtain grants. In addition, I have a permanent position as a lecturer at Wageningen UR, where I teach scientific writing to MSc and PhD students.

What is SenseMed and who is it for?SenseMed is a special interest group that focuses on bringing together SENSE members with clients in the medical and biomedical fields. In a nutshell, SenseMed provides a forum where like-minded editors, translators, and medical writers can exchange ideas, discuss the latest trends and challenges in publishing and funding, help de-mystify obscure medical terminology, and more.

How did SenseMed get started?SenseMed was started by SENSE members Josefien Bruijn, Julie Box and Daphne Lees to connect members with questions related to medical terminology. For years, SenseMed was strictly email-based, with members joining a Yahoo! mailing list to exchange questions and answers. With the growing ease and power of search engines, however, participation in the mailing list declined, so last year we closed the mailing list and now encourage members to post their queries on the members-only Forum.

How often does SenseMed meet up?That’s a good question! Actually, with the exception of one event about six years ago, SenseMed has never met at a physical location, and that’s something we’re hoping to change. Our goal is to organize two to three meetings each year.

How many people generally attend SenseMed meetings?We’ve never really met, but our target is to draw a group of around 20.

When and where will the next SenseMed meeting be?Thursday 20 February, 2020 from 16:30-18:30, at Restaurant Se7en in Utrecht.

There is no shortage of conference accommodation in the Netherlands, so choosing one just requires a map of the country and a pin, right? Wrong, especially if it’s for the SENSE biennial conference…

Two years ago, I was asked to recommend a location for the 2018 conference. It was quite a challenge, but eventually the decision went in favour of ’s-Hertogenbosch – not because it was a city nobody could spell, but because it offered the right combination of facilities that discerning SENSE members expected.

So what is the ideal location for our conference? In short, there isn’t one, as everyone has his or her preferences. Some of us want a city location with good public transport connections, others want a monastery in the middle of nowhere with free parking, no distractions, and waking up to bird song. As we are becoming a more international event, simply choosing a place that is accessible by train, bus or bike is not enough.

Starting last January (yes, January 2019!), I longlisted almost fifty locations that, in my experience with other conferences, would be suitable. These included several locations suggested by other SENSE members. I shortlisted this to twelve. Of those twelve, five did not have availability, offered a ridiculously high rate or simply failed to respond. Finally it came down to a straight contest: Rotterdam or Maastricht. My personal recommendation was for Maastricht, partly because they had come in second place in 2018, and were very, very keen to have us this time.

During the summer, several of the conference committee members visited the location, viewed the facilities and spoke to the staff. In the end, Maastricht won, but as a consolation prize Rotterdam got the Eurovision Song Contest!

Price is not the only issue, though of course this is a major consideration. Flexibility is most important. I had to explain to all the potential locations that if I was organizing a conference for a major national/international/multinational company, I could tell them immediately how much accommodation we would need, safe in the knowledge that the organizers would pick up the tab. It’s quite unusual for conference locations to understand that we are all freelancers, we pay our own expenses, and because the event is not during ‘office time’ (in other words, in our own time), SENSE cannot guarantee attendance numbers a year in advance.

Another important consideration was that the location should not charge more for two half days than they would for one full day. That’s a bit of a cheek, as it’s unlikely that they would be able to sell the conference facilities on the Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, so in true Dutch tradition, it’s a case of ‘twee halen, één betalen’!* My shortlist was limited to locations that were prepared to meet us on this point, and most of them were.

I hope I have found the right location for the 2020 conference. If I have, you may congratulate me in June; if not, it’s the committee’s fault! The planning of the speakers, the programme, the workshops and the other activities is going ahead at full steam. My job is complete, but I’m already looking discretely at locations for 2022 – just in case the committee asks me again!

This is where we well be holding the pre-conference workshops and the conference itself: at the four star Amrâth Grand Hotel de l'Empereur in Maastricht. Conference delegates will be able to book a room at the special conference rate once registration for the conference itself opens.

For more information about the conference hotel, see the hotel's website.

Check this page for full details of the conference, location and programme!

We’ve just started a new decade, and SENSE has entered its third decade as a society. So, the time is ripe to broaden the Annual General Meeting's scope and to take it to a new level.

So, what’s on the menu? We’ll start by reviewing the society’s business over the past year: the 'taking SENSE' part. SENSE AGMs have previously been all-afternoon events. Now, in keeping with many other societies, the business part of the meeting will be much shorter (max. 1 hour) with a request to members to submit any questions in writing in advance. A shorter AGM does not mean compromising on our high standards of accountability and scrutiny, but just that the business will be conducted faster and more efficiently.

Now, of course, you’re wondering what will happen with the rest of the time. Well, we’ll use some of it to take a broader look at the society and what we can expect in the coming year: the ‘making SENSE’ part. This will also include an appropriate reflection on our thirtieth anniversary. Then we’ll take a leap into the wider world of language professionals by treating you to a talk by Claire King. She will be providing the English voice-overs for the Eurovision Song Contest later this year in Rotterdam.

Fortunately, some things are too good to change. Therefore, the afternoon will be rounded off with drinks and nibbles, giving you plenty of time to relax and chat with fellow members.

You can read the provisional timetable for the afternoon below, but first a word about this year’s location. We have chosen to host the AGM at Kargadoor, a cultural podium in the heart of Utrecht. By renting the facilities at Kargadoor, SENSE is supporting the highly diverse programme of cultural events offered there. We have the large room on the ground floor, which includes plenty of space for the traditional pre-AGM book swap.

Provisional timetable

13:45 doors open – book swap and tea & coffee available

14:15 AGM business part (taking SENSE)

15:15 AGM looking ahead (making SENSE)

15:35 AGM tokens of appreciation for SENSE volunteers

15:40 Tea and coffee break

16:00 30 years of SENSE

16:20 Talk by Claire King

16:50 Members’ questions to Claire King

17:00 Wrap-up, followed by drinks and nibbles

Please note that the AGM is open to all SENSE members and the programme is free of charge.

The SENSE EC looks forward to welcoming you all at this year’s AGM. Further information about the business part of the AGM and the rest of the afternoon will be sent to members in the coming weeks.

In early December 2019, both the Ed SIG and UniSIG focused on academic writing. Below, Marianne Orchard reports back from the UniSIG presentation on editing texts for the humanities and social sciences. Jackie Senior tells us how the SENSE Ed SIG members discussed the use of online resources for academic writing.

Fourteen of us turned up for the UniSIG meeting at Se7en in Utrecht on Friday 13 December – as if we’d thought the venue would only accept multiples of seven. We’d come for a presentation by Theresa Truax-Gischler and Maria Sherwood-Smith on the American Council of Learned Societies’ Guidelines for the Translation of Social Science Texts.

The guidelines, Theresa explained, were developed to help those who commission edits and translations. ‘Given the potential of the social sciences to influence … millions of lives’, they declare, ‘it is incumbent upon both translator and editor to produce the most reliable translation possible.’

But what is a reliable translation or edit? Should you domesticate or foreignize? Maria had faced this conundrum when translating a Dutch book on 19th-century correspondence. In a more cerebral version of Snog Marry Avoid? she had had to decide whether to translate, gloss or borrow archaic forms of address such as uedele, wel edele and gij.

And given the importance of storytelling and voice in the social sciences, should you level stylistic peculiarities or allow a note of foreignness to enter the text? And what about errors in the source text? Translators and editors, say the guidelines, ‘…must not attempt to correct what they perceive to be errors in the text.’

We decided it boils down to whether you privilege the source text, as the guidelines prescribe, or the target text. However, as many of us have a direct relationship with the author, perhaps we are like quantum particles and can exist in two states at once: as both author’s and reader’s editor/translator.

First, David Barick reported briefly on the EU-MIRoR conference (Methods in Research on Research) that he’d attended in Paris. This project aims to reduce wasteful clinical research and increase the value of research practice. Then we moved on to the main subject of the afternoon: discussing the numerous online resources for learning about writing in English and about academic writing. Such resources need to be chosen carefully to match the learners’ individual needs and the course being given: no easy task given the number of websites available. It is essential to first specify who will be using the resource, at what level, and for what purpose.

David provided a list of resources and we looked at some together. These included the Springer, Purdue University, Columbia Universityand CARS model websites. As these are generally large, text-based websites, selecting what to look at was sometimes rather difficult. We had a lively discussion on some of the advice given (so many language professionals, so many opinions) and then we did some of the online tests offered to students for them to check what they had learnt. However, we found we sometimes needed more than one go to work out what the correct answer was. This highlights one of the difficulties for students using websites on their own: there’s not always an explanation of what they’ve done ‘wrong’. A face-to-face teacher can point students in the right direction.

We found each website missed some points we would have expected to be covered, for example, the use of the passive, nominalization, writing for a specific field, or relating the instruction to the student’s native language and to their concept of formal writing. We then looked at the AWL (academic word list) Highlighter. This tool highlights the formal words used in academic texts and gives the writer an idea of how much they are using the correct sort of vocabulary. It also offers help on meaning and pronunciation.

For the second half of the afternoon, we looked at videos that explained aspects of academic writing. Some of these were less than inspiring and consisted only of a person talking to the camera, while others (e.g. a TED talkon How to use semicolons) used visuals to attract attention and explain more complex points. Several videos were rather simple and proved a slow way of gathering information (since many people can read a text more quickly than listening to a speaker).

In the end, recommending one website over another proved rather difficult. We finished on a lighter note with the suggestion that all writers and students should watch Helen Sword’s YouTube video on Zombie Nouns, and follow her advice on writing vigorous, verb-driven sentences.

Please consult the SENSE Members’ Forumto see a complete list of resources used during the SENSE Ed SIG meeting.

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A little bird has tweeted that Nordic Editors and Translators (NEaT) has recently celebrated their 5th jubilee … cause for a resounding kippis! ('cheers!' in Finnish) to our sister society, if ever there were.

To hear NEaT tell it, everything began on a cold mid-January day of 2014 in the hazy back room of a small Helsinki pub, the Leijuva Lahna. It was there that the mission, the name, and the founding members, some twenty in all, came together to create a professional network of editors, translators, and language professionals. Julie Uusinarkaus was to act as chair that first year, Daryl Taylor did the legal documentation and paperwork, and Virve Juhola translated everything into Finnish. On 20 October 2014, the Nordic Editors and Translators association became registered as a professional organization in the Finnish Register of Associations.

Of course, all founding fables have a back story, and NEaT’s began at the Mediterranean Editors and Translators Meeting 2011. Four revisors from the University of Helsinki – Julie Uusinarkaus, Lisa Muszynski, John Gage, and Stephen Stalter – met with MET members Mary Ellen Kerans, Marije de Jager and Alan Lounds to ask them about how to create an editors’ association in Finland and the other Nordic countries. Back in Helsinki, the team began collecting the names of local editors who might be interested in launching an organization. In 2012, Lisa and Julie began their first editing seminars at the university. When Virve joined the effort, translation was added into the organizational mix. By the end of 2013, just in time for a mid-winter’s founding, the list of potential members of what was soon to become an association of editors and translators had built to around 100 professionals. A star was born.

Over the years, NEaT has held a number of events, and under the watchful eye of the likes of stalwarts Julie, Lisa, Virve and Ian Mac Eochagáin they just keep getting better. In September 2014, NEaT partnered with KAJ (since 2019: Kieliasiantuntijat), the Finnish trade union for language specialists, and SKTL, the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters, to present a seminar on noun stacking by lecturer Stephen Stalter. The following year, an annual NEaT event, English Today, was introduced together with new partner the Finnish-British Society (Finn-Brit), and a panel discussion on Demanding Quality was organized. The year 2015 also saw NEaT’s first Annual General Meeting take place and witnessed the inauguration of the NEaT newsletter and website, www.nordicedit.fi. In the ensuing years, workshops, seminars, lectures, roundtables, panels, social events and topic-oriented committees followed.

Open to non-members, NEaT’s unique English Today seminar series now attracts language professionals from far and wide, taking as it does a deeper look at ‘what editors and translators working in and out of English have to keep in mind as they go about their work’. Clearly, ensuring that the quality of the English in translations and revised or edited documents is in conformance with international usage was, and remains, one of the society’s primary goals. Stop Press: English Today VI is scheduled for 13 March 2020, so mark your calendars and get ready for the trip north to Helsinki!

Reflecting a need to be a part of a community of practice, partnering has been a key strategy for NEaT’s growth and success – both locally with Finnish language organizations such as Kieliasiantuntijat, SKTL, and Finn-Brit, and internationally with MET, EASE and SENSE – something immediate past chair Virve Juhola worked hard to achieve. With the election of new chair Ian Mac Eochagáin in 2019, the focus has turned to strengthening and broadening the already-extant relationships with language professionals in other Nordic countries through the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association (NFFO) and the Norwegian Association of Professional Translators (NORFAG).

Thanks to the close ties our respective societies have developed, ties SENSE treasures, a number of our members now also belong to NEaT. Some have attended, and continue to speak fondly of, NEaT events such as the summer social, the year-end Christmas function, and English Today. Such binding, bonding and learning encounters will, we hope, benefit both societies, which together now constitute a much wider community of language practice. And whereas our members who have had the opportunity to attend MET conferences annually have been able to make the acquaintance of kindred professionals from Norway and Finland there, now SENSE’s own conferences have begun to attract speakers and delegates from the more northerly climes. NEaT members Kenneth Quek and Carol Norris filled out our SENSE 2018 conference programme with an introduction to Chinglish and NEaT, a colloquium on journal-acceptable manuscript style, and participation in an international panel on editing texts for doctoral theses/dissertations – contributing appreciably to the conference’s success.

What’s emerged is that our collective quest to improve the English used in the documents we translate, revise and edit will continue to draw us together, lead to our finding common ground, and perhaps even enable us to pass assignments one another’s way in the best interests of clients. Such exchanges and cross-pollination can only bode well for all our members. Long may that continue as NEaT goes from strength to strength as the newest member of our European community of professional bodies.

Our congratulations and best wishes go to our sister society up north!

Yet another year has flown by and I am now in the midst of inviting members of SENSE to renew their membership for 2020. The first invitation went out on 2 December and, I am happy to say, more than 100 of you have paid up so far! Inevitably, there are always members who wish to cancel their membership – perhaps due to retirement or simply not having the time to participate in SENSE activities – but fortunately we have also been able to welcome some new members in recent months.

For anyone who may be thinking about joining SENSE, now is the time to do it! Our memberships run from January through to December, so if you join now you’ll be able to take full advantage of all the benefitsSENSE membership has to offer. For example, we organize a number of workshops throughout the year, giving you the opportunity to hone your professional skills. There are also plenty of social events where you can practise your networking skills. The highlight of 2020 will be our Jubilee Conference to be held in Maastricht on 6-7 June. The theme of the conference is (Re)Vision: Honing our Skills to Meet Market Challenges. Registration will open shortly.

We also offer a members-only Handbook with a wealth of best-practice information for new and more seasoned language professionals, and Special Interest Groups where you can meet members in your geographical area or your specialist field. If you are interested, please see our Joinpage!

Current members, please remember to renew your membership by 31 January 2020! I will be sending a few reminders throughout January.

It only remains for me to wish everyone happy holidays, and I look forward to welcoming both old and new members to SENSE in 2020.

Whether it’s a blue envelope through the door or an email announcing Bericht van de Belastingdienst in uw Berichtenbox op MijnOverheid, either one is likely to fill you with dread at worst and irritation at best. So it’s no wonder so many SENSE members travelled to Delft on 10 December for the seminar Understanding Dutch tax for freelancers hosted by AAme Tax Consultants.

Tax advisor Quintin Eadie kicked off the proceedings with a comprehensive overview of the Dutch tax system. Among several subjects, he covered income tax procedures for filing returns, the benefits of having a fiscal partner such as a spouse or registered partner, and the different types of taxable income. He then went on to present proposed future changes to the Dutch tax system. These include a two-tier tax bracket system from 2021 onwards, the abolition of study costs as a deductible expense and the limitation of tax deductions to the lowest bracket. Of these changes, limiting tax deductions may have the biggest impact on freelancers. Although we will pay more tax in the long run, this may be offset by higher tax credits. This is by no means certain, however.

After a short coffee break, certified public ccountant Pauline Deelen-Aarts gave a presentation on BTW (Dutch VAT). She talked about the different categories of BTW – exempt, 0%, 9%, 21% – and where they apply. She also covered changes to the Kleine Ondernemersregeling and how to reclaim BTW paid on a bad debtor. Most importantly, Pauline highlighted the new BTW numbers coming into effect in 2020. Your new BTW number must be stated on your invoices and website (if applicable), but your old BTW number must be used in your BTW returns and any correspondence with the Dutch Tax Office. Nothing is simple when it comes to Dutch taxes!

During the BTW presentation, Jenny Zonneveld raised a question on behalf of SENSE members who have been approached by Scribbr, an online editing service for students. Besides paying low rates, Scribbr does not charge BTW, since it describes its services as ‘remedial teaching’ and therefore BTW-exempt. As this assertion is new to many SENSE members, we asked Pauline’s opinion. AAme will get back to us in due course.

Ronald van Leeuwen, certified public accountant, finished off the seminar with a presentation on fiscal benefits and various tips and tricks. He emphasized the importance of good administration and careful record keeping, including a daily record of hours spent on work and business activities. He also covered use of a company or private car and the SME profit relief, both of which are relevant to freelancers.

Like other attendees, much of the information presented was familiar to me, but it was good to be reminded on some points and have my mind put at rest on others. And as always, it was great to get together with other SENSE members and hear their tax experiences.

Ros Schwartz is an English literary translator who translates Francophone writers. In 2009, the French government awarded her the Chevalier d’Honneur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her services to French literature, and in 2017 she was awarded ITI’s John Sykes Memorial Prize for Excellence. She's coming to the Netherlands to give a workshop on 11 January 2020 and by way of a warm-up, we asked her six questions.

SENSE members usually work with clients (translating, editing and writing for their readers and clients) who are not native-English speakers. That often means avoiding idioms (both American and British) and keeping the writing simple and straightforward. How can they do that and still make it interesting, powerful and vivid?That’s what we’re going to be addressing in my workshop! Simple doesn’t necessarily mean dumbing down. It means writing clearly and avoiding overly abstract language and convoluted sentence structures. The main thing when working with non-native English speakers is to build credibility and trust. Once clients are confident that you know what you’re doing, they’ll allow you the freedom to adapt your translations to the target culture.

Let me give you an example: I had a French client who regularly sent me press releases for the trade fair industry. French press releases are written in a completely different way from English ones: they start with a lot of general waffle, with the key information right at the end! I knew that if I simply translated the French, the result would not be fit for purpose and would end up in the bin before the reader even got to the main point. So how to convince the client? I translated one press release as it was, and then I wrote an English press release. It was half the length, punchier and had the essential information at the beginning. I presented both versions to the client, who immediately saw that my adapted version was much better suited to the English readership. After that, they would ask me to write a press release based on the French. We agreed an hourly rate that reflected my added value input. Outcome: a translation that was fit for purpose, and increased satisfaction all round. It is worth investing the time and effort in client education. These conversations should happen face-to-face when possible and you need to articulate your understanding of the differences between the source and target cultures in an authoritative way.

What other pitfalls do you think SENSE members should be especially aware of when writing for non-native readers?Always ask to check the proofs and make it clear you consider that as part of the job. Non-native speaker clients will sometimes ‘correct’ the English without consulting you and typesetting programs sometimes introduce wrong punctuation (e.g. inverted commas, hyphenation). It’s important to acquaint yourself with the terminology or jargon the reader is familiar with, so ask the client for reference material (i.e. glossaries, previous translations) and read industry publications.

How can translators be better writers and still stay true to the original text? After all, they may have little leeway to rewrite the material they are given, or even to stray too far from the source. What advice can you give them?It depends what you mean by ‘stay true to the original text’. You can remain true to the spirit but stray from the letter. Translation is first and foremost about communication, and it’s our job to communicate in the most effective way possible. Some source texts are poorly written, but that’s not an excuse for producing a poor translation. We shouldn’t lose sight of the overall purpose, which is to convey information or ideas. Again, we need to build client trust and convince them that we know how best to convey their message. This applies especially to fields such as tourism and art. Ultimately, we must have the confidence to see ourselves as competent writers, not humble servants of the source text.

Many clients do not share their ‘reader persona’ – if they even have one – with their translators or writers. When one is working on business texts, what should one do to convince the client to see things from the end-user’s perspective?One thing you can do is refer to industry literature written in English. I’m thinking of the research into annual reports carried out by David Jemielity of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. European companies often refer to themselves in the third person, whereas English companies use the first-person ‘we’. David’s superiors were very resistant to the idea of saying ‘we’, so he analysed annual reports written in English, which chiefly used the first person to talk about the company, versus translated annual reports, which slavishly used the third-person of the source text. Armed with these findings, he convinced BCV to switch to ‘we’.

What advice can you give to SENSE members who want to position themselves at the quality end of the translation market?Work with direct clients so you can have the sort of conversations I’ve mentioned. And talk to them about the translation process to encourage them to build in the time you need to do a top-quality job. Most clients have no idea how long translation takes, so we need to be more transparent. As part of a client education talk I gave to a group of trade fair organizers, I held up a text of around 400 words and asked them how long they thought it would take to translate something of that length. They had no idea, hence the deluge of ‘urgent’ translations with impossible deadlines. So now, when I am asked to provide my rate, I include a planning guide, suggesting the time needed to translate texts ranging from 500 to 10,000 words.

If you’re charging premium rates, it’s also important to spell out what ‘quality’ means and what clients are getting for their bucks. It is always beneficial to have two pairs of eyes on a translation, especially when it’s intended for publication, so break down the quote into the different stages: research, compiling a glossary, creating a style sheet, translation, checking, copy-editing by an external professional, responding to client/author feedback and proofreading. And give an estimate of the amount of time involved. Often there’s a disconnect between the language we speak (price per 1,000 words/per page etc.) and that of the client. They’re interested in the overall price, and whether it comes within their budget. But if you want to stand out from cut-price competitors, you need to demonstrate what it is you’re offering that justifies your higher rate. Once the task is broken down into the different stages and days’ work rather than a price per word (which demeans what we do – we’re not just substituting words), the price makes more sense to the client.

Which three things do you hope SENSE members will take away from your workshop?